Postpartum University® Podcast

How Does Postpartum Nutrient Depletion Affect Organ Function? A Conversation with Holly Stein | EP 203

• Maranda Bower, Postpartum Nutrition Specialist

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The postpartum body is not designed to “bounce back” without deep, intentional nourishment—and the lack of education around depletion is failing mothers every single day. 

BUT… hardly anyone in mainstream medicine is addressing: nutrient depletion and its long-term consequences. If you've ever wondered why so many postpartum women struggle with autoimmune diseases like hashimoto's, thyroid imbalances, depression, and chronic fatigue, this episode is going to blow your mind.

Maranda is interviewed by Holly Stein of Eat Mama Meals to break down exactly what happens to a postpartum body when key nutrients are depleted. They explore how postpartum depletion is more than just “feeling run-down”—it can actually lay the foundation for chronic disease and dysfunction. From why iron, magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3s are essential for recovery to how depletion fuels inflammation, hormone imbalances, and gut issues, this episode is packed with critical, research-backed information every postpartum provider needs to know.

If you’re working with postpartum moms as a provider, doula or holistic health provider, understanding the long-term impact of depletion is non-negotiable. Learn how to recognize the warning signs, help moms replete their bodies, and prevent the all-too-common cycle of burnout, illness, and frustration.


Check out the episode on the blog: https://postpartumu.com/podcast/how-does-postpartum-nutrient-depletion-affect-organ-function-ep-203/


KEY TIME STAMPS:

00:02 - Why postpartum depletion is overlooked in conventional medicine
04:15 - How a lack of key nutrients weakens the body's ability to function
09:48 - The connection between nutrient depletion and postpartum depression/anxiety
16:32 - Shocking statistics on postpartum autoimmune disease
22:28 - Can the body recover naturally, or is intervention required?
26:23 - How providers can help moms replenish and prevent chronic illness


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Speaker 1:

The postpartum care system is failing, leaving countless mothers struggling with depression, anxiety and autoimmune conditions. I'm Miranda Bauer and I've helped thousands of providers use holistic care practices to heal their clients at the root. Subscribe now and join us in addressing what modern medicine overlooks, so that you can give your clients real, lasting solutions for lifelong wellbeing. Hey, hey, so I want to tell you really quickly, before we start this show, that we did something very different than we have ever done before ever done before. Just recently, we had an amazing interview with Miss Holly Stein of Eat Mama Meals, and this was actually recorded and done via YouTube, so I'm going to drop that link so that you can see that, if you want to go, take a look at us and actually like see us in person.

Speaker 1:

And this interview was so spectacular. It's Holly interviewing myself on the topic of what happens to our organs and our bodily function when we are depleted of key nutrients. What happens then, and so I talk in detail about how this transpires in our body and long-term health implications, and what this really means for us when it comes to disease and dysfunction and what really happens. This is an amazing episode, so good that I had to have it on the podcast, so I'm going to go ahead and start playing the recording now. Really, really tune in and love this as much as we do. I promise you are going to be blown away.

Speaker 1:

Hi, miranda, I'm excited to be with you again.

Speaker 2:

So I was on Miranda's podcast. Oh my gosh, like a year ago maybe, I don't even remember, but it's kind of it. Yeah, we're flipping the tables. I'm not I don't have a podcast, but we're kind of like doing some more like YouTube interviews, and we had posted something on Instagram and you commented and I was like we need to dive into this further. Um, so, for well, first just like introduce yourself and like just tell us who you are, in case people don't know.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, so I'm Miranda Bauer. I am the founder and CEO of Postpartum University and we support providers and advocates and really understanding how to support a woman in the postpartum period, because this is not a part of any sort of education. No formal education touches on postpartum care and I'm not talking about acute postpartum care, meaning you know the first 48 hours or even the first six weeks. We're talking about the year's postpartum. So I give providers and those who support women in the years after birth all of the tools, the protocols you know, understanding the physiology, the psychology, all of the things.

Speaker 2:

Love that, okay, and so we got a baby here. He's supposed to be napping and he's not, but we're mothers and we're just rolling with it.

Speaker 1:

So I'm just going to dive in.

Speaker 2:

Okay. So the quote that we posted on Instagram was from Dr Oscar Saralack from the book the Post-Datal Depletion Cure. So it says a mineral, vitamin and nutrient insufficiency won't give you a disease, but it means that your cells and organs are not able to run properly. This, in turn, can make you feel terrible. So then Miranda chimed in and commented and, as a direct result, when your organs cannot function properly, you do develop disease, especially alongside trauma and stress. I wholeheartedly believe depletion is a major factor of disease, and I was like, oh my gosh, like we need to talk about this, because I never thought about how nutrient depletion can, like lead you end up with disease, but I never think about it as like, oh, you're postpartum, you're depleted, and that's kind of like the catalyst that got you there. So I mean, what diseases do you see, like most commonly in women, that you feel are attributed to nutrient insufficiency?

Speaker 1:

So, first off, nutrient depletion doesn't directly cause disease. Okay, it's not this neat one-to-one relationship, but it creates a weakened foundation that makes the body more susceptible to dysfunction and illness over time. So when cells don't have the building blocks that they need and your body is literally built on nutrients, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein your organs can't function optimally. And then, especially postpartum moms, we see conditions like thyroid imbalances, hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroid disease like Hashimoto's. Those often emerge or even worsen during postpartum because of nutrient depletion like iodine selenium iron, vitamin D.

Speaker 1:

We also have mood disorders, right, we've actually normalized mood disorders because they're so common, and we know that postpartum depression and anxiety is exacerbated by deficiencies. Actually, deficiencies can mimic symptoms of depression and anxiety. So B vitamins, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids and so many others. And autoimmune issues, right? So particularly women who are depleted in essential nutrients, they experienced a weakened gut barrier and immune dysregulation which contributes to autoimmune disease flare-ups or even new diagnosis. And the crazy thing is, over 30% of women in the postpartum period, in the in the first year postpartum, I should say will develop an autoimmune disease.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my God, wait, say that again. How many?

Speaker 1:

30% of women in the first year postpartum will develop an autoimmune disease. Like nobody's talking about this. Isn't this insane?

Speaker 2:

Like and every woman out there is going.

Speaker 1:

oh my gosh, that is so explanatory Thank you for sharing that.

Speaker 2:

How many autoimmune diseases do you think are undiagnosed, even?

Speaker 1:

Oh, it's significant, right, it takes an average of what I think it was 10 years to get a diagnosis for a thyroid disorder because providers are not trained to do the right tests right, and so it's absolutely ungodly how we did this. When I was diagnosed and I've gotten to this field because of my own experiences with depression, anxiety, rage I had bipolar, with one postpartum bipolar. I also developed an autoimmune disease which was ulcerative colitis, and it was over five years, five years of dealing with pain and it wasn't until my. You know I had all of this pain in my first and then I was diagnosed after the birth of my second, probably around 12 months postpartum, and it just and because my symptoms were just like constantly exacerbated over, like it just got worse and to the we just couldn't ignore what was happening anymore, but the symptoms started so much sooner.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, wow, now do you tend to see like certain nutrient insufficiencies kind of then leading to certain things?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. But I do want to say that if you're deficient in like one vitamin or a mineral or nutrient, you're deficient in so many more because your body, it, doesn't work in a vacuum, right? Neither does nutrients, and they all work together and they rely on each other. For example, vitamin D, magnesium and calcium work synergistically, right. Omega-3s and antioxidants A, c and E, protein and iron, and you know like they all work together. And, and here's the big kicker that I really want to like draw here is that the lack of nutrients causes chronic inflammation, and that is the root of disease.

Speaker 1:

Every single disease begins with inflammation. We can actually predict disease based on someone's inflammatory markers Wow. And chronic inflammation is traced back into the body's inability to properly regulate immune responses, break down toxins, repair tissues, and that requires, like this, full spectrum of nutrients. And so when the body is missing these, these components, there's several things that kind of just like stroke, the fire of inflammation, right. And then postpartum is this time of like biologically normal acute inflammation, which is just like a fancy way of saying that you are naturally inflamed so that you can start the healing process from labor and birth, right.

Speaker 2:

You're a human being.

Speaker 1:

You birth that baby, and now we've got to heal that body, and so that inflammation is normal, it's supposed to be there, we want it to be there, and so you're already in an inflammatory state. And then, when we couple it with all of this, you know depletion, and we know that 80% of women are lacking key nutrients during pregnancy and postpartum. Right, it's, that's a fact. And so when we're lacking this, what we have is a recipe for longer lasting, that the inflammation, that acute inflammation, becomes chronic inflammation. And now we have a recipe for disease and dysfunction, which is what we see in motherhood and in postpartum, and we even call normal.

Speaker 2:

And then we're eating crappy food, like getting you back out, not resting, like not supporting your bodies.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, absolutely. And then you, you ask the question like what are some of the common nutrients that you see, deficient Iron is a massive one. We lose a lot of blood, right. This is why our providers test us for our iron at the 28-week mark and then again later on, right, because it's fairly typical, because we are creating so much but iron for those who are listening in, it's like the it's essential for producing hemoglobin, right, and that's the protein in red blood cells that it carries oxygen throughout the body, and so that is so incredibly important for every organ, especially the liver, muscles, brain, and so if we don't have enough of that, we're impairing cellular energy.

Speaker 1:

And then our body can't function right. Right, your body isn't able to detoxify as well as it was, and so now you have this buildup of toxins in your body, especially from the thyroid, because it's not able to function properly. It also regulates metabolism right, and so all of those things get pushed to the back and your body just doesn't function well. Vitamin D is another one. It is tied to depression, low bone density, higher risk of autoimmune diseases, and it really puts a strain on the body's recovery. B vitamins is such a huge one Mood imbalances, chronic fatigue, neurological symptoms and magnesium. Magnesium is like one of my most favorite because it is such an important part of our body and its regulation. There are over 200, actually I think they've connected over 300 now just enzymes that are created from magnesium.

Speaker 1:

So magnesium creates over 300 enzymes in your body and enzymes are so important for carrying out very specific things within your body, and so when you don't have enough, yeah, you, it's so many things in your body, over 300 different processes, um become inhibited. Wow. Omega threes, that's another one. Right, brain fog, mood imbalances, aches and pains linked to inflammation. The body is very inflamed without omega-3 fatty acids. So so many things that we can go into again. And it doesn't operate in a vacuum. If you're, if you're missing one or more, you're missing multiple others missing one or more.

Speaker 2:

you're missing multiple others, wow, okay. So a couple of things. So one for magnesium. I feel like the thing everyone wants to know is, like, what form of magnesium should they be taking? Like, do you have one that you, I mean, do you have one that you like? Do you recommend like a complex of, like all of them? I don't know. I take magnesium glycinate every day.

Speaker 1:

I think that's the most popular one. It's easier to tolerate, but there are a multitude of types, because that's what your body needs. You know again like we need a plethora of magnesium, and the best source is to change your diet so that you don't rely on biohacks like making sure you're taking them and there are times in our lives, especially when we're trying to replete our nutrient stores, like postpartum, where we want that extra.

Speaker 1:

But it's very important that we again like when you have a food item right, when you have a veggie, or when you have a steak or whatever it is. There's so many other components, like vitamins and minerals and nutrients and antioxidants, and they all work together not to just give you those nutrients, but also to help your body break down those nutrients and absorb those nutrients, and so that's one thing that I find supplements aren't going to lack significantly and we're starting to recognize that in science is that we're just when we're just eating or consuming, you know, calcium or magnesium, we're not doing our body a service, because there's so many other components of a food source that we're missing. So, yeah, yeah that we're missing.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, yeah, I imagine a steak is perfectly balanced with all these things that all trigger it with it. You know, it's not like you said, just the one thing I did do blood work around, I think, like seven or eight weeks postpartum, and I was deficient in magnesium and vitamin D shocker. So I've been supplementing with that in the short term, hoping to like I've been supplementing with that in the short term, hoping to like the postnatal DHA right now, hopefully, you know. But you know, what was interesting, though, was my vitamin Bs, my B12, I think it was. It was the highest she'd ever seen in anybody, and I think it's because I so I have MTHFR, and so I think since 2019, I've been like just overdosing myself on B vitamins. I'm like I need this, I can't metabolize these, and I think I just like I've been overdoing it and I thought oh, it's water soluble, I'll just like get out what I don't need Right Like.

Speaker 1:

I guess not. I don't know if you have like an opinion on that. Yeah, mthfr is is really common and it's a. It's a mutation that so many people have within their, their genes, but environment is what turns it on and off. And and, of course, how you're taking care of yourself, your lifestyle, right, and so if you're living a lifestyle that is supportive of not turning that on, then you don't need all of those things in order to support you because your environment is supportive of that Right.

Speaker 1:

And so so many like I hear all the time well, I, you know, I am, I'm positive for this gene and therefore I have to do all of these things and I'm like no, you're not addressing the root cause of any disease or dysfunction whatsoever by by focusing on that. You have to take a step back and saying why is that thing on in the first place and affecting my body negatively? And there's, there's root. You know, nutrient deficiency is a huge root cause. Uh, toxic overload in your body. We're so exposed to toxins Not sleeping is a huge component. Not living in our, in our rhythms and nervous system, stress, trauma, those kinds of things, that's like the root cause of disease. All of those components right there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, epigenetics of like.

Speaker 1:

my favorite topic ever is in biology yeah, I can talk a million times on that one. That's a whole episode.

Speaker 2:

I know we're gonna like get on a tangent, okay, so now let's say you know your postpartum, you don't intentionally replete yourself with good foods and whatever all the things like. Is there a time frame that I mean, will your body like eventually like replenish itself or can you like stay in this like state of deficiency, like almost like forever, if like, or will your body like be smart enough to kind of just try to grab what it needs, even if you're eating you know, fast food and not doing things that support your health?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, this is such a great question. I will tell you, I have four kids and it took me um three of them to figure it out, right, um, and I think your body is going to continue doing everything it can to function and it's optimal level it's, it goes to um, your, your body does everything to get into a state of homeostasis that's what it's called in science, right, and it will do anything to be in that space and work in this optimal space, even with little support, and then the symptoms that arise from that are just like. I like to say that those symptoms are very much like the, um, the check engine light in your car.

Speaker 1:

We all we've all heard this as almost cliche, right, um, but they're, they're just like signs that, hey, you, you should do something different, or hate, like, you need to pay attention to this, this thing, right. And oftentimes we miss those and there is a way in which we can live in that state of depletion for years. If we're always just hovering right there, you know, in this small, you know inflammation state, with very little nutrients in this, but we get a little bit in our food and whatnot, then we're living in like a state of regulated, like dysfunction right, that's regulated dysfunction and we can stay there forever. You know, I look at my parents' health and God bless them. I know how I was raised um, boxed foods, like all the most awful things that you could ever imagine in a diet, and I mean like Oreos were my thing, like I had a sleeve of Oreos before bed every night. You know, as a kid, growing up like this was a normal thing and, um, and my parents have lived that life and they, they have their things, but they're living in an optimal deficiency zone, right, and so they're not.

Speaker 1:

But the moment that flips, the moment that something really big occurs, right, if you've got a stress thing, that happens and we all know, life happens, especially in motherhood. There's going to be moments of stress, there's going to be moments of of trial, and and then, in those moments, what we notice or even like going on vacation and like forgetting a supplement or that you're you're currently taking or eating out for a week straight because you're not at home, or whatever that can send a spiral into your body that says, okay, I can't function here anymore, and now I'm crossing into the red zone and this is not okay for me. And so I feel like a lot of women and postpartum live in this zone of I'm not functioning well, I'm not operating well, I have these symptoms, but I'm maintaining I'm okay. But the moment something happens, there's a crash in their system and then they're forced to deal with whatever it is.

Speaker 2:

That's that's yeah, that makes so much sense. So okay, so then after you become postpartum, you have a baby. Like will the average woman like just experience postnatal depletion if they don't actively try to combat? It like if you don't, if you're not like intentional about combating your insufficiencies, are you going to all of a sudden face a state like well, everyone face a state of nutrient depletion.

Speaker 1:

I think that there is this healthy balance that we can all get to and never have to worry about it, but it requires a lifestyle that is not conducive to the way we currently live, and especially in the United States, we have a very go go go mentality. We've got to get this stuff, and I'm like I'm guilty. I'm the A type I run my own company, right, you can probably relate Like. I thrive in that environment, and so therefore I have to make sure that other parts of my life are also thriving, otherwise I'm going to crash and burn, and a lot of people don't do that.

Speaker 1:

Our bodies are it's very cyclical.

Speaker 1:

We don't operate as a male does, where their their hormone cycles and and their rhythm renews every 24 hours, right, that's.

Speaker 1:

That's not the woman's body, and so we're going to really get into lifestyle changes If we're going to take care of our bodies, follow those rhythms, really eat in a way that's supportive of our own bodies, which, I will tell you, is vastly different than what we see in science, cause most of those scientific studies are derived on studies done on men, not the men, and our bodies are so unique and have such unique profiles that a lot of that information is not applicable for us. Yeah, so and so, if we're eating in this way and we're paying attention to our body, we don't have to combat, fight, go to war with postnatal depletion. Right, it would never be a thing. We would just live our lives in this fluctuation, and it doesn't mean that we won't have to pay attention. I think there's this especially in postpartum or even, and when you're first starting your period, or when you're entering in, you know, menopause, where you have to have a conscious effort to care for yourself in this way. Yeah, that doesn't mean that you have to live in dysfunction.

Speaker 2:

Right, yeah, this I mean. I feel like just slowing down in itself is going to like do you a huge? This is my first. It's my third postpartum and it's the first one that I've been content with slowing down Like I. It goes around like somewhere in the 40 days I was like just like not wanting to leave the house, like not wanting to do anything, and I was like, oh my gosh, am I getting postpartum depression? Like I don't want to do anything? And I, but I was like I don't feel depressed.

Speaker 2:

And then I realized I'm like, I'm content, like I've never felt content, just like existing and being without, like doing things, and like he's five almost five months and I'm like still in this place where I'm like I'm such a homebody and like I don't really feel, like like I'm just so happy, just like being at home and like cooking and like being with my family, like I don't, like I don't want to go out and do that, like I'm just content here, I'm not outside like chasing things which I've never been in that place before that it feels so weird and it's yeah, it's so nice.

Speaker 2:

I feel like my first postpartum I did all wrong. My second one I like ate the foods, I ate the right foods, but I didn't really like I didn't incorporate the herbs or the oil or the rest, or like I just kind of did one thing, not all the things, and this one I kind of like focused on like all the different aspects and I was like wow, like I just feel content, like that's amazing.

Speaker 1:

I did the same thing. It took me until my fourth to figure it out. And my third. I was like oh, I already I know all the things and so I'm just going to do it all real quick. And and then I'm done with it, cause I feel so good. And so it was like the two to three month mark. I was like I don't need to eat this way and I don't need to take these herbs and I don't need to do this anymore, cause I feel great. And then it was just like this huge crash Right. And so my fourth it was like no, I got to continue to nourish my body.

Speaker 2:

It was like I got to continue being conscious and it was massive difference, yeah, okay. So I guess last thing would be like if you, if someone out there listening to this, is feeling like they're, you know, kind of getting down the path of like their autoimmune disease or, like you know, maybe postpartum mood or thyroid or things like that, and they're kind of like thinking, oh, maybe that's me, maybe I am like nutrient depleted, and it kind of like started the cascade to this whole thing, like what should? What would their next best steps be?

Speaker 1:

Come find us on social or our website we have a podcast newsletter, whatever or our website. We have a podcast newsletter, whatever. Start learning. Start learning what it means to be in a woman's body during postpartum Like those are so critical and and what you can do to really start helping yourself now. And the next thing would be and maybe simultaneously as you're learning find a qualified healthcare provider functional medicine doctors, naturopathic doctors, people who are experienced in postpartum care right, I think that's super critical. These are this is not a normal time of of your life. This is a very special, sacred time and it requires a whole different view of your labs and it requires a whole different view of how you're living your life. So, really dive into the education part. Educate yourself and find a qualified provider who works with postpartum women.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, do you know? Postpartum Care USA. Yes, yeah, I went to my labs with, and so, yeah, care USA yes, yeah, I did my labs with and so, yeah, they use functional medicine and work specifically with postpartum women for this exact thing. I love it. I love it. And you don't work with. You work with, you've trained practitioners, you don't work with individuals.

Speaker 1:

Um, so I, I did for years, and occasionally I do take on clients, um, but it's it's rare and you know few in between. But yes, yes.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so you will see people. Okay, so you can, I do see people. You can message me but it's.

Speaker 1:

It's not often. If I have space and I'm like a hundred percent sure that I can support you, um, I will see you. Otherwise, I just um, just refer you to somebody who I've trained.

Speaker 2:

Oh, perfect, yeah, Okay, is there anything else that to add to this conversation?

Speaker 1:

Oh my God, can we add so many different things? No, but I think that covers quite a bit and leaves a lot for people to really consider and dive into.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm trying to keep them like a little bit, like not too long, so they feel like you know they can digest one thing and not feel like too overwhelmed by all the things we could talk about. There's a lot of things. Okay, when are the people? Find you Instagram website, all that stuff?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely. Just go to postpartum you the letter, youcom, you'll find our podcast there. You find our social, you can. You can go to instagramcom slash postpartum university. That's our, that our handle everywhere, um, and again, our podcast, like everything, is found on our website. Make it easy for yourself, um, and just go find all of the things.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, and if you're like a doula or a practitioner or like you, she certifies it. You do um certified postpartum nutritionist.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so we certify postpartum um uh nutrition, um specialists, and so you can come and get a certification. We are the only functional nutrition who uh program that specializes in postpartum.

Speaker 2:

Well, thanks for coming. I always love you're like in Alaska. It's like your backyard is a forest. I'm like in an office bedroom.

Speaker 1:

I love it, I love it, I, but I am coming to San Diego this weekend.

Speaker 2:

And I would love to see you, I know we're going to miss each other. We were talking about it but like.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you're still so far I know. So yeah, it is what it. Is All right, thanks. All right, dr.

Speaker 2:

Soon.

Speaker 1:

Thanks so much for being a part of this crucial conversation. I know you're dedicated to advancing postpartum care and if you're ready to dig deeper, come join us on our newsletter, where I share exclusive insights, resources and the latest tools to help you make a lasting impact on postpartum health. Sign up at postpartumu the letter ucom which is in the show notes, and if you found today's episode valuable, please leave a review to help us reach more providers like you. Together, we're building a future where mothers are fully supported and thriving you.

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Maranda Bower

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